Emotional Wellness

Movement of any type can help to reduce stress. One of the easiest ways to do that is to just go outside and take a walk to reduce stress. You probably already knew this but think about it…how often do you actually go for a walk when you’re stressed out or need a mental break? Unfortunately for many of us our go-to stress busters revolve around food or numbing ourselves in front of a computer screen.

There are many health benefits to talking a walk. It’s also easy to do for most people, just head out and take a quick ten minute walk no matter where you are. You don’t really need any special equipment. You can certainly walk inside, but walking outside in the fresh air and sunlight will increase the benefits that you’re getting from your walk.

Talking a walk will help to reduce stress in many way. The first one is that it gives you a chance to get away from what you’re doing for a few minutes. Stepping away from everything for a change of scenery will allow you to come back to it with a clear head and a fresh perspective when you get back. This can be really helpful when you’re feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or simply need some fresh eyes to catch a few spelling errors.

Getting outside for a walk will also give your mind a break from whatever it is you were working on. Focus your mind and body on simply moving and taking in your outside surroundings. Many times when we take a break from thinking consciously about what we’re working on, our unconscious mind will take over and come up with ideas and solutions that our conscious mind couldn’t find. So stopping work for a bit and allowing the subconscious to take over just might bring that big breakthrough you’ve been hoping for. The rhythmic act of walking can help to boost this process .

Finally, walking also happens to be a form of low impact exercise that you can do just about any time or any place. It gets you moving, helps to release tension in your muscles, pump more blood through your body, and oxygen into your cells. When you walk outside in the fresh air, it’s even better for you.

Next time you’re feeling stressed out, just head outside for a quick walk to reduce stress instead of grabbing a coffee, energy drink or sweet treat. If you can, walk with a friend or bring your dog along for even more stress reduction benefits!

What does mindfulness really mean? When you think about mindfulness, you’re probably thinking of an overall sense of positivity and well-being. You might also think it means lots of meditation and essential oils, or creating a positive environment around you. Though any of these can contribute to mindfulness, there are also some mindfulness techniques that you can learn in your daily life to help reduce stress.

Here’s 3 mindful ways to reduce stress in your life. Note that each of these things are to be done with purpose. That’s the heart of mindfulness – going about your daily life with intention and purpose.

Journaling with Purpose

Journaling is one of the easiest and most basic ways to bring mindfulness into your life. If you’re not already writing or journalling on a daily basis, start now! Simply write whatever comes to mind. Then you also want to add some gratitude at the end of every journal entry. No matter how your day went, there is always something to be grateful for. It’s also helpful to go back and reviewing your previous journal entries. Doing this on a regular basis will help you to discover the patterns that are causing stress in your life. Then you take constructive steps to reduce stress inducing situations in your life. Again, journaling is one of the most important mindfulness techniques that you can do to help you relax and destress.

Breathing with Purpose

You might wonder about this since you’re always breathing! But there’s more to it than that. Mindfulness techniques related to breathing help you perform calming breathing techniques which can help to lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and any other stress related reactions. This is breathing with purpose and can be a vital mindfulness step in learning your body reactions, keeping them in check and dealing with your stress before it hurts you physically.

Meditation with Purpose

Meditation is listed in most mindfulness techniques as part of learning your body, being aware of how it feels, and how it is reacting. Meditation with purpose is meditating to focus on your stress, relieving that stress, and finding what the root issue is. Through meditation you can start to see a pattern in your issues and the issues you need to focus on instead of the initial knee jerk reaction of what the stress is.

One of the easiest ways to get started meditating with purpose is by practicing yoga. Yoga naturally incorporates breathing, meditation mindfulness as you focus on asanas, what your body is doing and how you are feeling.

Any of these techniques can be used alone or together to help reduce stress levels. Learn how to keep a mindfulness routine that works for you when you need it as well as making it a part of your daily routine will go a long way towards reducing chronic stress levels and the health issues that are commonly associated with stress.

Although I’ve been in recovery since 1986 and a Christian since 1988, I really struggle with depression at times. Life gets overwhelming.

Even though I’ve made many positive lifestyle changes beginning with my decision to stop drinking in 1986, things have not been easy. Despite my best hopes and intentions, some relationships have never been able to heal. I’ve gone through most of my life reeling from the wounds of toxic narcissism, emotional abuse and virtually no extended family.

My hope was that in having my own family wounds would be healed. And while we have much to be thankful for, it has come with a cost. Among four kids we have diagnoses of two heart conditions, scoliosis, Neurofibromatosis, Down Syndrome and various learning disabilities.

And then in 2010 I suddenly developed cervical dystonia, a movement disorder that disabled me. It’s all been overwhelming, to say the least. Now I’m a mom with chronic illness as well as being a special needs mom. I definitely didn’t plan this.

People have often commented that I gave them hope and while I thank them outwardly, inwardly I smile ruefully. I don’t feel very inspiring most days. I’m a person in recovery with a history of depression and anxiety trying to find hope and purpose in living one day at a time.

Depression has many causes. For some people it can be physical. Don’t be afraid to admit what you’re feeling. Find an understanding friend to talk to. If you feel you need medication for a season to get through it, talk to your doctor.

The pain of life is that it’s messy for everyone, no matter how perfect things might appear on the outside. Here’s 5 ways to find hope when life hurts.

5 Natural Ways to Overcome Depression and Find Hope

Overcome negative thinking by taking your thoughts captive. This means putting God first in every daily activity, as mundane as it might be. Spend your first moments with Him in prayer and meditation on His Word to develop greater intimacy with your Abba Father. As much as you can, reduce digital, mental and physical clutter to avoid decision fatigue.

Healthy movement is a great way to get your mind off whatever’s troubling you. It gives you something else to focus on and you’ll feel so much better afterward. It can be a walk on your street, gardening, dancing or a hardcore workout.

Find a creative activity that works for you. It might be gardening, crocheting, coloring or cooking. Do note that now might not be the best time to start something completely new and potentially overwhelming which might lead to feelings of failure! For me, just playing with a Happy Planner and washi tape is simple, fun and helps me to do daily brain dumps to get the noise out of my head.

Stay off (or reduce) time on social media. While social media can be great for feeling connected, when you’re struggling with depression it can have the opposite effect if it’s causing you to compare yourself with others or just feel left out of things. If this is the case, take some time away from scrolling your feed and just check notifications if you have to.

Spending time in nature is a wonderful way to clear the noise out of your head and find connection. Whether it’s the beach, a park, the mountains or even your backyard…whatever’s available to you in your area, get outside. It will do wonders for your mood!

5 Helpful Scriptures for Depression

I have said these things to you; that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. (Psalm 56:3)

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (Matthew 6:27)

When I got diagnosed with cervical dystonia in 2010, I quickly became disabled with horrible chronic pain in my neck and upper back. I spent close to a year on the couch much of the time. Even simple tasks like making breakfast became overwhelming. After awhile I began practicing chair yoga, moved on to neck and yoga postures, and as I improved, on to whole body yoga. Am I cured of dystonia? No. It’s one day at a time but yoga has greatly reduce the need for pain management medications.

I don’t have to tell you how fast-paced and easily distracted our world is. When not in the car, people are sitting behind their desks all day, whether at home or in the office. They’re hunched over their phones. Many come home and crash in front of the computer. It seems easier to sustain an unhealthy lifestyle with processed food and inadequate movement than to put the effort into healthier lifestyle habits.

When we don’t put healthy habits first, we can become more susceptible to chronic pain and chronic illness. I’m convinced this is part of what happened to me. When the day finally came that I was really struggling, I started looking for answers and became willing to change.

The Benefits of Yoga For Chronic Pain

Like me, many people are looking for natural health alternatives for chronic pain. Traditional pain medications and muscle relaxers, while necessary for some, have side effects and run the risk of addiction. Yoga is an ancient practice combining meditation and exercise which have a deep and long lasting effect on the mind and body. Yoga regulates breathing and increases metabolism, aids in weight loss, relieves stress and reduces depression and can also help in pain relief and management.

How to Get Started With Yoga for Chronic Pain Management

In yoga you can find a huge variety of practices and teaching styles. If you don’t care for mysticism, be assured that most of what is taught in a typical gym setting is going to be more health oriented. Or you can always look around on YouTube to get started with an at home practice. I highly recommend Yoga With Adriene. She’s fun, relaxed and not overwhelming. If you’re checking out a yoga studio, look at their social media accounts to get a feel for where they’re coming from. No matter which you choose, it’s really important to get proper cuing and guidance as you move through asanas. For awhile I used printouts from various sources but now I realize that I really missed out on the full mind body experience and tended to rush through it.

There are various ways to get started with yoga, including classes at a yoga studio or a yoga DVD. It is important to get some kind of guidance when doing the poses because posture, alignment and simply being able to relax and follow the directions of the yoga teacher make a big difference in the outcome. I recommend Healthy Moving and Yoga Download.

Simple Asanas To Help Manage Pain and Promote Relaxation

You must know your own body and its limitations. If you have back problems, you will want to check what’s safe for your condition with your doctor or do some online research about your condition.

The best thing about yoga is that it can be practiced anywhere and anytime. And remember, it doesn’t even have to be a full practice. Think about taking short movement breaks. You can do some of them in bed, your home office or even in your cramped workspace if you know the right exercises.When getting started, just begin with a simple intention, meditation or spiritual prose. Find something to focus on and begin to practice some simple breath work. This will ease your mind and body and prepare it for the exercises ahead. Remember to be slow and steady with your movements.

Child’s Pose – This is my all time favorite and can be done anywhere around the house. I love to use a big bolster, turn down the lights and just relax in that position.

Cat/Cow Stretch – This can be done in bed or on your yoga mat. It’s simple, relaxing and easy to remember.

Cobbler’s Pose – This pose can be done by most people and is a great way to counteract the sitting that we do all day.

Laying Twist – This is so easy to do in bed, even if you’re too tired to do much else and helps to release lower back tension.

After all of this (if you can) try some relaxing poses like the pelvic tilts, legs up the wall pose or happy baby pose. When combined with simple breathing techniques, you’ll be amazed at your overall feelings of wellness. I can’t promise how fast overall pain reduction might happen for you, but know that if you stick with it and continue to make small strides forward you will see improvements.

Don’t forget savasana (corpose pose)…it’s the most important part of the practice. It lets all the good movements and postures settle in to your mind and body.

This blog post should not be construed as medical advice. I’m not a doctor or a yoga teacher, just a yoga enthusiast who has suffered with the debilitating neurological condition dystonia since 2010. Yoga for pain management has worked for me not as a cure, but as a tool to help manage the complexities of my condition.

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The first step to conquering emotional eating is admitting that there is a problem. But where do you go from there? I’ve struggled with emotional eating for my entire life. I’ll never be “cured” from it but here’s some helpful tips I’ve found that anyone can use to help stop emotional eating.

Keep a Journal

One very effective way to find out what triggers emotional eating is to begin a process of keeping a journal. A bullet journal can be a great tool to help you. The drive to engage in emotional eating is largely subconscious (as well as spiritual). Keeping a journal can be a powerful tool in discovering what’s going on in your life that might lead to an emotional eating binge. This is going to take some conscious effort, but every time you’re tempted to eat out of emotion, write down what’s going on. Are you hungry, angry, lonely or tired? If you think about doing it after the binge, examine yourself. Were you at work, school, home or out in public? Were you with friends, loved ones, coworkers or alone? Were you upset or stressed out? You’ll probably notice a pattern of behavior emerges.

Find Your Triggers

After you’ve spent some time taking journaling and doing some inner work, you may find out what some of the major triggering events might be. If you have done some inventory, found that you weren’t really hungry and that cravings appeared during specific situations, you’re probably stress eating. One of the easiest ways to quit almost any destructive habit is to simply replace the unhealthy behavior with healthy behavior. If you can, get rid of any unhealthy foods around the house so that you don’t succumb to temptation when stress happens.

Pray

It might be hard to think about praying in the heat of the moment. Try putting some positive slogans or scripture printables in your kitchen (on the refrigerator or on the pantry). Discipline yourself to read through something encouraging before you start eating mindlessly.

Go Outside

There’s nothing like getting outside, even for just a five minute walk, to reduce stress and help to gain a better perspective on whatever’s stressing you out.

Practice Mindfulness

Exercise and deep breathing can be very effective in managing any kind of stress. (Yoga is great for this.) Shallow breathing has been found to increase stress in the body, so spending the time to learn breathing techniques such as pranayama can lead to positive health benefits and stress reduction. For me, I’ve noticed that practicing yoga and mindfulness has helped me to become more aware of stress and negative emotions that are building up.

When we succumb to emotional eating, what we’re really doing is numbing our feelings and self medicating. Learning to recognize self-destructive patterns of behavior and replacing them with positive habits is key to overcoming emotional eating. And as I mentioned, for those of us with long-standing eating disorders, we’re always going to be vulnerable to emotional eating. Ongoing recovery and change will only happen by intentionally practicing good habits to replace the destructive ones.

Positive changes don’t happen right away and there’s bound to be stumbles. If you’ve had a binge, forgive yourself. Accept that it happened and move on. Your next healthy meal is only three hours away.

I’m feeling a little shellshocked about the many celebrity passings of 2016.

Like many other kids from my generation, I grew up processing life through the music and comedy I listened to and the TV I watched. Struggling with constant conflicts with my biological family, and lacking any real extended family or faith community, I needed to feel part of something and I found it in 70s sitcoms and music. They were my family when I struggled with feeling loved and accepted in my own home. So when they inevitably pass away, it hits hard.

It’s only natural that we’ll be hearing about more and more deaths of musicians and celebrities with every passing year. What gives me pause is that many of them aren’t too much older than me and in a few cases were even younger.

While it saddens me and reminds me that time is indeed slipping into the future, it also makes me ponder how I really want to spend my time and what I want cut out what’s unnecessary. God willing, I’ll be 55 this year and my time on earth grows shorter. How can I redeem it and make it count?

I’m spending a little time this Christmas break setting intentions for 2017. Intentional goals are a kind and gentle way of setting priorities.

Read the Bible through. I’m embarrassed to admit that although I’ve been a Christian since 1988, there are some sections of the Old Testament I’ve never read and have never read it through as a whole. I’ve tried many times but got lost in Exodus and the business of life. I’m trying to do things a little differently this year. I found a plan that I think will be a good fit, and I’m going to make good use of the audio capabilities of YouVersion. I’m also using the Message translation because I just need a different voice.

Resume health and wellness goals. I lost 25 lbs. In 2016, about halfway to goal. I probably could have gotten there sooner but I went off track quite a bit the second half of the year. I love yoga and am happy to do it most days but I need to add some cardio to the mix a few times a week because I lose weight faster when I sweat. Also I’m aiming to add two hot yoga sessions at the gym a week because as much as I don’t like the instructor’s style, it does push me past my limits and I feel great afterwards with reduced pain and spasm.

Learn photography. It’s been a dream of mine to be a photographer for a long time but life always got in the way of my getting a DSLR or even having the time to learn. I’ve found a great photography course that I have already learned so much from. I’m kind of wondering if I’m really too old now to expect to go pro but it’s definitely a fulfilling and creative pastime for me. I’m also working on learning Photoshop with the hope of adding graphics and printables services to my business down the road.

Reduce time spent on social media scrolling. I’m as hooked to my phone as anyone else and I spend far too much time randomly scrolling my social media feeds. It can really get in the way of productive reading. I just bought a Kindle paperwhite for this purpose so that I’d have something productive to read when in the car or sitting around waiting rooms. After this election season (and the sure to be ongoing drama in 2017…) I just find being online too much to be really draining. For me, there’s too much information to consume and process. I try to follow positive people for the most part but I can’t get away from the lingering sadness I feel when I see pics of people with big extended families or moms who aren’t chronically ill being able to do things with their kids that I can no longer do. Social media can be a blessing when it connects me with others who are struggling, gives me a writing outlet and a chance to earn a little extra money but it’s a curse when it triggers sadness and depression.

Get outside. Chronic pain is a constant presence in my life that limits walking, which I used to love to do. I also hate the Florida heat and I find myself indoors far too much. One good thing about having an active Jack Russell terrier is that it does force me to get outside several times a day but I need to do more than than that.

Pray. Somehow this fell by the wayside this year. I’ve been operating in “independence” mode all on my own strength. It’s a major character flaw of mine. I still want to be a badass New Yorker, but I often think God allowed me to become a disabled special needs mom so that I would see my powerlessness, learn to depend on Him more and see His provision in everything.

Practice acceptance. Living with chronic pain has meant giving up a lot. It isn’t easy. I’m continually learning life lessons on accepting what I can’t change and the living the chronic life as best as I can.

Practice gratitude. No matter how I’m feeling or what’s going on aroundme, there’s always something to be grateful for.

Live one day at a time. I’m one of those big picture people who is constantly thinking what the next step is. That’s a given as a special needs mom…we tend to worry about the future more. We do have to plan ahead. But I have to learn not to overthink everything and accept each day and what it brings.

Create margin in every area of my life. After 20 years of raising 4 kids, homeschooling and the household chaos that comes with being a special needs family, there is a whole lot of mess and clutter in every part of my house. Not sure if I should just tackle a draw at a time or attempt a program like this one (which might doom me to failure) or this one but every box taken out of the house and found drawer space is a victory.

One more thing…I’d be remiss in not mentioning that I’m entering my 32nd year of sobriety. It’s still one day at a time. Living these intentions to the best of my ability will keep me in a good mindset which is essential to long term sobriety.

P.S.I like to use my bullet journal to keep track of what I don’t do so that I don’t succumb to overwhelm and put too much on my plate.

My friend Candace at Mercy is New likes to call these intentions Grace Goals. While everything seems possible during holiday or summer break, the reality of life WILL happen. Baby steps are all we really need to take and keep moving forward in grace with intention.

Oh wait, there’s one more intention. I’ll be joining Candace’s community to study Woman of the Word in January. I really want to develop as a Christian writer and share the reason for my hope. That starts with more systemic study of the Bible. You can find more info here.

This blog uses affiliate links. They do not affect the cost of the product for you, but I receive a small commission for recommending them. I only recommend products that I feel comfortable with and believe would benefit my readers. Thanks for your support!

The holiday season can be a great opportunity to spend time with family and friends and celebrate. This can be a good and a bad thing. The expectations of seeing family, endless social events, gift shopping, and holiday preparation can become too much for even the most dedicated extroverts. All too often, anxiety and depression can become unwelcome holiday guests. Fortunately, there are a number of ways that you can reduce holiday stress and mindfully enjoy the holiday season.

First Things First

The amount of online drama and negativity has dramatically increased with no sign of slowing down. It seems to get worse every week! It can be incredibly draining. Too much time spent scrolling and absorbing other people’s outrage never helped anyone feel any better. Not only that, if the holidays are difficult for you it can increase feelings of despair and isolation. You might want to consider putting strict boundaries on your social media time.

Your time with God has to come first. Spend the first few quiet minutes of every day in quiet devotion and prayer to help center your thoughts. I like to pray the offices to spiritually check in as the day’s stresses begin to accumulate.

Eat Well

As much as you can, make healthy food choices. If/when you choose to indulge, don’t turn it into a binge that lasts into January. Begin eating healthy again at the next meal. And be sure to stay hydrated.

Keep Moving

Set aside some time for movement – whether it’s walking, gentle yoga or just getting outside for a bit, getting your blood circulating is enormously helpful. The American Heart Association wants you to stay active all the time, but it’s extremely important to keep that going during the holidays. Any activity or exercise you can fit in will help reduce your stress and elevate your mood.

Set A Budget

Admittedly, retail therapy can be great fun but not so much when you have to face the New Year with more credit card debt than you can handle. You can minimize the damage by setting a budget and sticking to it.

Know Your Limits

As a chronic pain patient, I’ve had to come to accept that I can’t do everything that I used to. I don’t bake as much as I once did, try keep the decorations minimal and try to pick just a few holiday events to try to participate in. Set the priorities that work for you and your family and then stick to them.

Don’t Be Afraid to Do Something Different

For some of us, holidays can be really difficult. Not everyone has a supportive extended family close by. If you’re by yourself, look for ways to serve in the community. If you’ve sick, have experienced a recent loss or are experiencing ongoing financial struggles, you might want to step away from the holidays completely. Take a road trip, go to the beach or mountains. Detach in whatever ways make sense to you.

The Bottom Line

Self-care is a conscious choice that we have to make on a daily basis not only now, but throughout the year. Take some time and create a deliberate plan of self care for yourself to make it through the holiday season.

Low self-esteem and a lack of confidence can be caused by many factors. Most people think that to overcome low self-esteem, you have to look inside yourself and do a lot of navel gazing. But this isn’t necessarily true. We should also take a look at the external factors that might be contributing to chronic low self-esteem.

You may have already spent a good amount of time looking inside yourself for all the reasons that you’re struggling. Let’s take a look at the larger space that you’re living in. Ask yourself these questions and spend some time honestly thinking about your answers.

Learn to Live Large

Sometimes we feel small because we’re living small. This doesn’t mean that you have to do anything crazy or beyond your means but think about ways to create new space in your life.

Many people with low self-esteem find themselves living in a rut they can’t seem to escape. Maybe you’ve started to believe that you can’t do any better and you just stop trying new things. Over time, you’ll create a self-fulfilling prophecy without realizing it. Take a look at your life right now. What limitations have you accepted without challenging them? How can you create more space and margin in your life so that you can grow?

Surround Yourself With Positive People

We are deeply influenced by the people we spend the most amount of time with. This can be a good thing if you’re spending time with positive people, but not such a good thing if they’re negative and taking you with them.

Ask yourself how you’d feel if you didn’t speak to a certain friend or family member for a week. Would you feel relieved at the thought of missing that person’s rants about her life? Now think about a person who is a consistent source of encouragement in your life. You’d probably start to miss that person’s good influence in your life.

If there’s someone negative in your life, you don’t have to cut them out completely. But do look for ways to limit your time together and don’t be afraid to change the topic of conversation if things take a negative turn. However, if the relationship is so toxic that it’s causing damage to your emotional health, it’s perfectly okay to walk away.

Learn to Pursue New Experiences

Often a lack of confidence and self-esteem can be caused by becoming too comfortable. You do the same things in the same way every single day. You don’t change things up. You don’t challenge yourself to experience new things and you don’t go beyond what’s safe and comfortable. This can cause you to stop growing as a person.

When you go outside your normal and look for new experience, you open yourself up. You discover new ways to do things. You find solutions that you wouldn’t have come up with any other way. You learn more about yourself and the world around you.

You can find new experiences into your life just by looking for opportunities outside of your comfort zone. Try a new restaurant. Volunteer in a different part of town. Take a road trip with no agenda and see where you end up.

Your environment plays a big part in shaping your overall self-esteem, so don’t be afraid to look around at your life and make some needed changes. Surround yourself with people and experiences that build up your confidence and you’ll begin to overcome issues of low self-esteem.

Life can get downright overwhelming at times. How do you handle times of ongoing stress? Like Faydra Koenig mentions in her new blog post Living While in Personal Crisis it’s all too easy to succumb to the temptation of binge eating in yoga pants while numbing your mind on Netflix reruns.

And you know what…that’s okay. For a little while.

But when it starts to drag out for weeks or months, it’s time for you to take action. Don’t know where to start? Living While in Personal Crisis gives you actionable steps to take so that you can start to feel alive again. She’s done the thinking for you.

Crisis happens. You think I raised my hand and volunteered to hook myself to the scandal that hit my family? Ummmm, no. Emphatic NO! Did it happen anyway, yes. Sitting in my yoga pants, eating chips and dip (man I love chips and dip) was my silent middle-finger to my situation. Weathering my storm zapped my energy and for a moment I found sustenance in Reduced Fat Ruffles and this sour-cream-Ranch-dip-thing I like to make. (Don’t judge me, you jerk) After a while, the thought of mixing up the dip and going to the store for more chips felt like a misuse of my time. I started to want more. I wanted to stop going out to get chips and I wanted to go out and get a life. No one was coming over to moderate my chip intake and tell me that there was more to life. I had to find it for myself.

I’m filing this one away on Pinterest for future reference. In our family, there’s always something around the corner…and I like chips too.

This election season is like none other I can remember in my lifetime (though truthfully I wasn’t always paying attention!) It seems like everybody is at each other’s throats and there is so much volatility that it’s tempting to just stay off social media. But on the other hand, the concerns being raised are complex and worthy of thoughtful engagement and discussion.

How do you find a healthy balance?

You may have some very worthwhile talking points that you want to share. If it’s heavy on your heart, then you should do so. There are very important issues being discussed that affect women, minority groups, people of faith, first responders and the disability community right now (totally random order here.)

The old days when we got our news from the morning paper or evening news are over. Now we have a 24/7 news cycle. Blogging and social media give those with an inclination to write a natural outlet to express their thoughts. This is both good and bad. There are a lot of eloquent people out there worth following, while others are just spreading division.

There is a lot of anger and hurt out there on a number of issues. People who have been stuffing their thoughts and feelings for years are finding healing in coming out of the shadows and voicing what happened to them. Social media has given a voice to the formerly voiceless. This is good and helps to bring awareness to important issues particularly discrimination which has impacted many of us.

However, before you share that great article or post a political opinion on social media, give it some serious reflection and consider the following:

*Have you researched the information? Is it accurate?
*Can you effectively handle the disagreement and ugliness that your post might trigger, no matter how heartfelt your intentions were when you wrote it?
*Are you ready to spend a few days babysitting your Facebook thread so that it doesn’t get out of hand?
*How well do you handle online stress? (For me, it sets off my dystonia-induced head tremors so for the most part I try to avoid it unless I think it’s that important. And some things are.)
*Are you ready to potentially be unfriended by people you’ve been FB friends for years?
*Have you considered the ethnic and cultural diversity of your online friends who probably have had very different life experiences from you and are being triggered by the sensationalistic news headlines?

How to Survive on Social Media This Election Season

Many people wonder if they should just turn it all off until after Election Day. But social media has become an integral way that many of us communicate with each other. And for those of us who are homebound, bloggers or work virtually, getting online is essential. It really is quite possible to do this and preserve your sanity.

*Turn off all notifications.
*Consider removing the Facebook app from your phone.
*Set times to check Facebook and Twitter. Then stick with them.
*When on Facebook, learn to walk away. Scroll on by without reacting. Don’t read comment threads. You don’t have to respond to every crazy opinion that’s out there. If certain topics are triggering you, unfollow the people who are posting them.
*Don’t go online when you’re tired. Or if you’ve taken a muscle relaxer or any medications. (Ask me how I know.)
*If you feel you must reply to an opinion, think carefully about it. Consider the source. Remember that most people will probably skim threads and really not read through that thoughtful response you just spent 10 minutes or more crafting and then type something thoughtless.
*Filter your feed. I’ve found this to be a little harder on mobile but I’ve set notifications for bloggers and pages that I enjoy, read those first and try to resist random scrolling as much as possible. On my desktop, I can also just choose “Pages” feed.
*Spend more time on Instagram or Pinterest. They’re happier places.
*Stop scrolling period. Be intentional online and just check in with your close friends and favorite pages. And as much as you can, just turn everything off and go outside.

You know, all of us should make more of an effort to engage with people in person instead of only online. Online communication can just magnify our differences. Try to meet and start conversations with people from different backgrounds who live in different neighborhoods and don’t vote or look like you. We should break bread and engage in meaningful conversation with each other and share our stories. We’ll probably find that we have a lot more in common with each other than we thought.

I’ve also come to believe that sometimes we’re better off not knowing everyone’s political views. Online communication can put a strain or even destroy real life relationships. Those long, drawn out threads rarely change minds and often cause hard feelings. Think carefully before you post or reply.